Is Bipolar Disorder a Disability? Can You Get Benefits?

Bipolar disorder is a mood-shifting mental health condition affecting about 2.8% of the adult population of the United States. A person with the condition, also known as manic-depressive disorder, may experience extended periods of elevated mood and energy followed by long periods of depression, fatigue, and sadness.

Is Bipolar A Disability?

Yes, symptoms associated with bipolar disorder can interfere with a person’s ability to function on a daily basis. A person who is unable to work because of their condition may qualify for bipolar disorder disability benefits through the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs.

Overview Of Bipolar Disorder

A person with bipolar disorder experiences shifts in mood and energy from highs, called hypomania or mania, to lows, called depression or depressive state. Symptoms associated with hypomania include:

1. Excessive happiness and excitement
2. Severe and sudden mood swings
3. Restlessness
4. Racing thoughts
5. Rapid speech
6. Heightened energy levels
7. Poor judgment and impulsive behavior
8. Reckless behavior
9. Feeling unusually powerful or important
10. Hallucinations and delusions

A manic episode may last for weeks, months, or even years before the person experiences a depressive episode. Depressive episodes may include the following symptoms:

1. Lack of motivation
2. Overwhelming sadness
3. Fatigue and lack of energy
4. Inability to enjoy things you once enjoyed
5. Impaired ability to concentrate and make decisions
6. Feeling hopeless or worthless
7. Overwhelming need for sleep
8. Feeling irritable
9. Thoughts of death or suicide

Before you can file a mental illness disability claim, your condition must be diagnosed by a healthcare provider who will document your medical history and conduct a physical examination. Diagnostic tests, including blood tests, may be ordered to rule out other causes of your symptoms, and a mental health evaluation conducted to arrive at a diagnosis of your condition.

Treatment of bipolar disorder generally involves medication and psychotherapy. Healthcare providers may also recommend self-management strategies, such as exercise and meditation, in conjunction with medication and therapy.

Qualifying For Disability Benefits With Bipolar Disorder

You must be disabled according to the definition used by the Social Security Administration to evaluate claims for SSDI and SSI disability benefits. According to the definition of disability, you must be unable to do substantial gainful work activity because of a medically provable physical or mental impairment that lasted or is expected to last for at least 12 months or is expected to result in death.

Your claim for disability for bipolar disorder undergoes an evaluation process that includes the listing of impairments, a compilation of medical conditions considered severe enough to meet the standards of the disability definition. Section 12.04 of the listing of impairments includes bipolar disorder.

To qualify for Social Security for bipolar, the medical evidence must document three of the following symptoms:

1. Pressured speech
2. Flight of ideas
3. Inflated self-esteem
4. Decreased need for sleep
5. Distratibility
6. Involvement in activities having a high probability of painful consequences that you do not recognize
7. Increase in goal-directed activity or psychomotor agitation

You also must have extreme limitation of one or marked limitation of two areas of the following areas of mental function:

1. Understand, apply, or remember information.
2. Interact with others.
3. Persist, concentrate, or maintain pace.
4. Manage or adapt yourself.

Instead of the limitations of mental function, you may substitute evidence that your condition is serious and persistent. This requires documentation of having bipolar disorder for at least two years. The medical records must include proof of ongoing medical treatment that diminishes the symptoms and signs of the disorder.

The evidence must also show a marginal adjustment. This means that you have minimal capacity to adapt to demands that are not already part of your daily life or changes in your environment.

Qualifying by meeting the requirements of the listing for bipolar disorder is not easy. If you cannot qualify by meeting a listing, there is another way to be approved for Social Security v for bipolar disorder. The evaluation of your claim continues with a review of your medical records and other documentation to determine your capacity, with the limitations caused by your mental health condition, to do the jobs you did within the past five years.  

The review also considers your age, education, work experience, and other factors to assess your ability to adapt to other types of work available in the national or regional economies. This also takes into consideration the limitations imposed by bipolar disorder.

Legal Assistance For Bipolar Disorder Disability Benefits

Instead of attempting to take on the complicated application and disability review process for Social Security bipolar disorder disability benefits on your own, rely on the team of disability professionals at Sackett and Associates. Put our 45 years of experience in Northern California and throughout the nation with Social Security disability applications and appeals to work for you. Learn more about bipolar disorder and disability benefits by contacting Sackett Law for a free consultation.